By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Many concerns have raised after a debris pile-up/river overflow that occurred on Wednesday night and into the morning of Thursday, June 19th at the Smoky Hill River channel near Bill Burke Park off E. Crawford.
According to the City of Salina Utilities Department, the cause of the river overflow was due to the surrounding areas of Salina receiving 'heavy rainfall' a couple of days ago and carried on over into the the Smoky Hill River.
Utilities Director Martha Tasker stated that water flow rates in the river have been in the 30 - 33 cubic feet per second range, before the flooding occurred. However after the rainfall, the water flow rate in the river went up to about 3,000 cubic feet per second. Tasker stated that this was enough water to bring in debris from the dried up river channel, into the river flow and wall area.
“It is not something I can say in my almost 22 years here, that I have seen something like that before," said Tasker.
According to Tasker, the Utilities Department contacted the US Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies on what course of action to take. Currently, the Utilities Department is gathering information on how to solve the issue.
Tasker recommends people to avoid the area for safety precautions.